Verizon FIOS Or Time Warner Road Runner - How Is Your Roosevelt Island Cable And Internet Service

 Image Of Time Warner Cable TV Screen Initializing After Losing Signal

I made the switch from Time Warner Roadrunner Internet service almost two years ago and am very happy with the FIOS internet service. I did not switch from Time Warner cable TV service to FIOS TV solely because of NY 1 local news service which is only available on Time Warner. However, over the last several months Time Warner cable TV service has declined significantly for me at Riverwalk. Two to three times a week, the cable signal is suddenly lost shutting off the television as it undergoes a rebooting process. It can take 10-15 minutes, sometimes longer, before TV service is resumed while undergoing the mysterious mystro  initializing process. Despite the loss of NY1, I am very, very close to canceling Time Warner Cable and switching to Verizon FIOS TV.

How is your Roosevelt Island cable and internet service?  Jesse, a resident of Roosevelt Landings/Eastwood is not happy with Verizon FIOS service problems and reports:

Verizon is making a big push to break Time Warner's monopoly on cable TV in Roosevelt Landings.

In October, I found a flyer outside my door offering a double play with Internet download speeds of 20 Mbps, more than twice what I was getting with TWC. Since the price was $20 to $30 less per month, I switched. No complaints the first month, but last month we had a random two-day outage because a wire became dislodged in the basement, requiring a visit from an on-site technician (who was very friendly) to repair.

Now extreme Internet slowness has been plaguing us for almost a month, and Verizon tech support doesn't know what to do about it. I've been hung up on twice now by technicians who don't understand the setup in Roosevelt Landings, and transferred in circles until I hang up myself in frustration. I'm seeing real download speeds of less than 1 Mbps, nowhere near the 20 Mbps I'm paying for. An online support chat this evening ended abruptly with no resolution, just another promise for a callback that I've yet to receive.

All of these headaches in such a short time makes me yearn for the Time Warner Cable service I once hated. In the three years I had their service, I never had a service call. Maybe it's time to switch back? Anyone else experiencing similar issues?

Are you satisfied with your Roosevelt Island Cable and Internet service provider?

Roosevelt Island Broadband Internet Access - Who Do You Prefer, Verizon FIOS Versus Time Warner Roadrunner?

You Tube Video Time Warner Cable Brainstorm

I received the following message seeking advice about high speed internet access on Roosevelt Island from a resident at 540 Main Street, also known as Roosevelt Landings, and formerly named Eastwood prior to it's purchase by Urban America. The reader is having problems with Time Warner high speed internet access during the evening and is wondering if anyone else is having similar issues.

Hi,

I'd like to know if my internet issues concern other people too.

Since last fall I use a high speed internet connection (Time Warner) and have been satisfied so far. Last Friday (May 15th) internet was not available around 5 to 7 pm. Since then, every wek-day the same: Full access during the day, no access in the after school/after work hours. This is pretty inconvenient for my children whose school expects them to use the internet for homework.

Does anybody know what's going on here? Before adressing Time Warner (maybe I'm biased, but I don't expect them to have a valuable customer service) I'd like to know more about the general situation on Roosevelt Island.

Thank you and kind regards

I don't know about this particular situation but I changed internet providers over a year ago from Time Warner Roadrunner to Verizon FIOS and could not be happier. To date, absolutely no problems, reliable service and extremely fast loading times for web pages and wireless to my laptop works well also. If FIOS is available in your building, I would run, not walk, and switch internet service providers.

Verizon FIOS is also providing television service in competition with Time Warner Cable Roadrunner system. I am told by Roosevelt Island residents who made the switch to FIOS TV that the picture is much better than Roadrunner's. I currently use Time Warner Cable but would love to make the change to FIOS. The only thing holding me back from doing that is I am a news junkie and think that NY1 does a terrific job with local news. Since NY 1 is not available yet on FIOS, (it is owned by Time Warner) I hesitate to change TV service providers. But I am considering it.

Verizon FIOS Versus Time Warner Road Runner Broadband Internet Service - Which Do You Prefer?

You Tube video of Upgrading to FIOS

An earlier post responded to a reader's inquiry concerning cable and internet providers on Roosevelt Island in which I stated that I was satisfied with my Time Warner digital broadband internet service. In the last few months I have become increasingly dissatisfied with Time Warner's Road Runner internet service noticing significantly slower page loading speeds and am seriously considering switching to Verizon's FIOS service.

Readers of the prior post had different views on whether Road Runner or FIOS were the better service for Roosevelt Islanders. From a Road Runner supporter:

... I got rid of Verizon broadband because it went out every time there was a heavy rain. After insisting on a home visit, the Verizon man mumbled something about water in a tunnel.

I have no problems with my Time Warner Cable connection and Roadrunner.

And a FIOS fan:

I've been using it for a year, and it is hands-down the best internet service I've ever used. ... I highly recommend it.

The Wall Street Journal reports on the battle between phone and cable companies for the business of internet users:

Stung by the success of phone companies in selling packages of TV and high-speed Internet services, the cable industry is getting close to launching a counteroffensive -- an inexpensive new technology that dramatically boosts Internet connection speeds. Called Docsis 3.0, the technology will allow the cable industry to compete on a more even footing with telecom giant Verizon Communications Inc., which is aggressively marketing a high-performance fiber-optic network called FiOS that offers much faster Internet connection speeds than cable modems can currently deliver. Whether the cable industry can roll out the new technology fast enough to minimize the damage from FiOS remains to be seen.

... For many years cable companies had an advantage on Internet speeds because phone companies were limited to DSL offerings, which had a maximum speed of seven megabits per second. Both Verizon's FiOS and a more limited fiber-optic service being rolled out by AT&T Inc. called U-verse are allowing the phone companies to offer more-competitive services. FiOS currently offers download speeds of up to 50 megabits a second -- nearly two and a half times faster than what Comcast or Time Warner offers. AT&T's U-verse can offer up to only 10 megabits a second, a 40% improvement over its fastest DSL offering and more comparable to cable offerings.

The NY Times on all-in-one cable, internet and phone triple play packages.

Consumers can also be the winners, if they are careful and question the sales representatives thoroughly. Let me impart my hard-earned knowledge and suggest that anyone considering a bundled plan ask these questions:

Are taxes included, or is there a flat rate?

Is there a one-time installation fee? Is there a fee to keep your phone number?

Is a contract required? For what duration? Can the fees rise over the contract period? What will they go up to after the contract expires? (For example, Cablevision’s bundled service rises to about $125 a month after the first year.)

If I change or drop one of the bundled services, will I be penalized? (Generally, the answer is yes.)

Is there a termination fee? (Verizon, for example, may charge a $200 fee if you cancel before the end of a two-year contract; Cablevision requires no contract and has no termination fee.)

Are there any promotions? (For example, we were offered $10 off the first six months of the bill in addition to a $200 gift certificate at an electronics store. My friend was given a $50 Target gift certificate for signing on.)

What options come free with the telephone services, and what costs extra? Caller ID? Call waiting? Voice mail?

There are other considerations. With Verizon we would get FiOS — the company’s name for its fiber optic technology. To make it more confusing, cable networks also use fiber optic technology, but it does not go all the way into the house, as FiOS does.

I think the cable companies better hurry up with their Docsis 3.0 technology.

UPDATE - 5/21/09 - I made the switch to Verizon FIOS and could not be happier.